Oil workers burned in Southern Illinois explosion remain hospitalized

GRAYVILLE, Ill. - Two Grayville, Ill., oil company workers who were badly burned Saturday in an explosion remain hospitalized.

Larry Perry, 66, and Tony Berger, 43, were injured when an an acetylene tank exploded in a workshop at the Goff & Pruitt Drilling Company yard in Grayville.

Perry sustained second degree burns to 40 percent of his body and remains in the intensive care unit at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis.

"They still have him in a drug-induced coma," said his son, Shawn Perry. "The doctors found he had some burns to his throat and had inhaled some soot. Once that situation improves, they plan to take him off the respirator."

Shawn Perry said his father suffered burns to his face, right arm, both hands and back.

Berger pulled him to safety and sustained burns to both hands and the upper part of his body. Berger remains at Deaconess Hospital in Evansville.

Investigators say they believe a wood-burning stove overheated, causing the nearby acetylene tank to explode. The blast sent the tank through the walls of the workshop. Firemen found it in a neighboring yard.

Perry's son said he stopped by the business about an hour before the blast to talk to his father.

"I looked at the stove and everything looked fine," Perry said. "I still have no idea how it happened."

Grayville community leaders have scheduled a meeting Thursday to plan a fundraiser for Perry.